Evidence for Europa‐like tectonic resurfacing styles on Ganymede

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Very high‐resolution imaging and stereo topographic data obtained during the Galileo G28 encounter with Ganymede show 1) evidence for Europa‐like, crustal spreading and resurfacing to form portions of the bright terrain, and 2) bright terrain that appears smooth at Voyager resolution (and thus a strong candidate for cryovolcanism) but instead is tectonically deformed and lacks embayment relationships when viewed at high resolution. In contrast to previous views, these new data show that tectonism has been the dominant process in shaping some very smooth areas and that Ganymede appears to have experienced Europa‐like crustal spreading during its previous history.